January 2017 Surgery Group
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PugsMama - this has totally been my struggle as well. My OS assured me she could save my nipples although my PS was hesitant to do this. I am large breasted and have struggled with this choice over and over in my mind. Both my OS and PS have discussed the surgery and have assured me they will do their best to leave me looking good.
BeachBabyK - Thank you for startingthis group. My doctor has given me all my options and has fully left the choice up to me on what type of surgery is best for me. Almost too much. I have really struggled with what is best. Hope you feel better soon!
I spent the day cleaning and putting away Christmas decorations. I want to have my house clean and organized before surgery on 4th.
I'm praying for us all! Hope everyone has an awesome last week of 2016! Keep your chin up and remember this to shall pass....
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thanks BeachBabyK, appreciate the feedback! My PS highly recommends nipple sparing if I'm a candidate (I'm not too saggy lol & depending on the tumor location). Meeting with BS on Wed & PS on Fri so I have to decide by then. Thanks for starting this group!
Leftcoastie, if you don't mind me asking, is your PS hesitant bc you're large breasted? It's a paradigm shift for me bc I never thought it was safe to keep them (my mom had a BMX 24 years ago & that was the conventional wisdom then so that was my frame of reference...) now it seems that if the tumor is far enough away, it's safe to keep them. Have you had your final BS & PS appts before your surgery yet?
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Hi again PugsMama- yes I have had my pre-op with them and yes that was my PS surgeons concern. I am meeting with both of them the morning of my surgery to draw me up. My OS is an amazing women who has also had breastcancer. She has really listened to me and discussed all my options. As with any surgery there are compilations that can occur but I do trust her to do what's best for me. My PS showed me lots of photos of his work and I think I can trust him as well. They will never look as good as natural but I am excited to hopefully become a perky size C!
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PugsMama & Leftcoastie, I have the same struggle for keeping the nipple, my BS will remove the nipple from the cancer side. And she recommends removing the right one too because I have big saggy boobs. On the other hand my PS suggested to keep the right one ... I can't reach a decision, I think if I will have a prophylactic MX of the right one so it's better not to keep the nipple specially that necrosis could also happens due to the size and the sagging of the breast ... what do you think
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Hi Momy4ever, assuming your BS & PS work together a lot & know each other well, I would ask them to please resolve their difference of opinion & come up with a joint recommendation since it makes it much more difficult for you to decide when they're not on the same page. They are looking at this through different lenses but what's healthiest for you has to trump all other considerations. For what it's worth, my PS recommended either keeping both or removing both for the best cosmetic outcome if that's any help. Personally, I'm going to opt for uniformity. If the cancer side goes, the other side is going too...I know how you feel though, these reconstruction decisions have been such a struggle for me too! Let us know what you decide...
Leftcoastie, I also feel really comfortable with my BS & PS. Something positive to focus on! Another positive thought. I ate (& drank) too much this Christmas season (not a very healthy response to stress I admit!) & am hoping to drop some weight after the surgery. I'm meeting with my BS tomorrow after pre-op testing & with the PS on Friday.. Looking for a perky size C too! What are you bringing to the hospital? I looked at the list on this site & I can't imagine bringing all that with me! Now that it's just 8 days away, my adrenaline's in overdrive lol!
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PugsMama-- It sounds like our situation is quite similar. I was diagnosed a few weeks before you but we are looking at much the same thing. I'm probably getting expanders and then gummy bear implants. I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't go to Cleveland clinic and get the diep flap done. There are risks with everything , I guess I'll have to settle on one and go with it. I'm worried that I won't like the implants. It is starting to get scary again no that Christmas is over. I'm glad I found this website to get support from you girls
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Anyone know why my diagnosis info doesn't come up with my post? ( I hope I'm doing this right)
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thanks PugsMama for the advice, I will meet with both my BS and PS on Thursday to discuss this nipple issue again. I think that if one nipple will go then it's better for the other one to go. I'm too looking for a full c cup too
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3bears- you have to go to Settings I believe and change your diagnosis area off of private. I have a Bio that shows on there, but never shows below, and I actually emailed them about it- there's no way to change it. Still waiting to hear back.
On the nipple sparing- that's what was suggested I could do as well (I'm small- A cup)- but they will test cells under the nipple to make sure there's not cancer there. If it comes back positive then they're gone.
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Pugs, I am from the Dec 216 Surgery Group. That list is very overwhelming. I asked the hospital what I should bring. She said underwear, toothbrush, your cell phone charger. I really didn't need much. She said to wear a button up shirt or sweatshirt jacket. They also had all those toiletries. The more you take the more you have to keep track of. They did not tell me about the no jewelry, so at time of Surgery I had to remove 2 toe rings, and my earrings.
I had UMX and was in hospital one nite.
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Thanks Goincrzy8! I'll ask the hospital when I go for my pre-admission testing tomorrow morning. The most I'll be there is two nights, they said. I expect to be out of it most of the time, I would imagine? How are you feeling, hoping your recovery is going well!! Here's to a healthy 2017!
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3bears, I was initially planning on getting a DIEP and was pretty far along in the scheduling etc until I realized that my overwhelming anxiety were my fears about the reconstruction. I had to decide if the benefits outweighed the risks of such a long surgery & recuperative process for someone my age (57). After much soul searching, I decided to go with implants instead. This was my thought process on the matter...
(1) I'm OK with having a foreign object in my body.
(2) Having "natural" breasts that age with you & gain & lose weight with you was definitely a negative for someone my age!
(3) They still have to do a second procedure a year down the road to tweak the results, maybe fat grafting or whatever so that's the same for either choice.
(4) If in 10-12 years from now, they have to replace the implants, they'll have better technology.
(5) I'm OK with "fake" perky breasts...
(6) This is not a good time for me to be out of commission for so long.
(7) At least from what the PS showed me, the pictures of the DIEP did not look any better than the implant pictures;
(8) I can always go for the DIEP down the road if the implants don't work out for some reason...
Once I landed on implants, I didn't look back because believe me, it was crazy enough coming to that decision!. That's my story. You may have different priorities or concerns. It helped me to try to articulate what I was fearful of and if it was "legitimate" or not. I agree that the indecision is torture. I had to change my PS once I decided because my initial PS was primarily a DIEP person. I love my new PS, who is the "implant" expert at my hospital. Good luck deciding, I swear this reconstruction business is harder than coming to grips with having cancer!
If your fear about implants is that you won't like them, try to communicate to you PS what you're afraid you won't like, is it the look, the feel, the recovery, the tissue expander process, the risk of what can go wrong with them. Ask if you're a candidate for pre-pectoral (above the muscle) tissue expanders. If my "flaps" are thick enough, my PS will do that for me & that alleviates the pressure on the ribs that some complain about. I think it's up to the BS to decide how thick they can be. But if "thicker" flaps means more breast tissue left behind & that increases my recurrence risk, forget it, they can go under the muscle. The frustrating thing about all of this is that because I'm having a BMX, they won't know a lot until they go in there since we don't know for sure how far away the tumor is from the nipple (there was another suspicious something they didn't biopsy bc I'm having BMX) if there's any nodal involvement, etc. etc. So all my decisions are "if we can", or "if all goes well once we're in there" etc. etc.
Wishing you peace with whatever you decide!
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Planning on double mastectomy/no reconstruction in January, no date yet. I see the surgeon on the 5th.
Thank you for starting this thread!
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Thanks BeachBabyK for getting this group started.
My surgery date is January 6. I am having a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction: tissue expander placement.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to plan the much needed support so many of us will be needing in January. It's right around the corner!
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Diep bilateral Jan. 24th, 2017
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Hey Ladies... First off reading everyone's stories is so helpful! Thank you. We are all going through this journey together. We all have the same crazy decisions to make without knowing all the answers! It's terrifying.
PugsMama - I'm taking goincrzy8's advice on the things to bring to hospital 😊
I too ate and drank way too much during Christmas. I'm going to exercise all week, ring in the New Year, then prepare for battle 💪🏼
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Hi everyone, remember the angst I had about whether to have nipple sparing or not? Well, I met with the BS today and she's not feeling too good about that. My breasts are apparently larger than I gave them credit for and the tumor is on the borderline of being too close to the nipple. So that decision is dealt with.She referred to the implants as "internal prostheses" which is a good reminder for me that they won't be "breast replacements." I liked that. Thinking of them that way will help me keep my expectations realistic. She has a little bit of a brusque personality but I appreciate her no nonsense forthrightness. I'll see her a week after the surgery to go over the pathology report & treatment plan etc. Bummer, there's still that "cancer" thing to deal with....oh well, one step at a time.
One more thing I wanted to share, my mom (BS survivor of 24 years...) recently got the "teardrop" implants as a replacement set- I saw them today for the first time & they looked pretty good, even on an 82 year old!
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Lots of good info Pugsmama and thank you Goingcrzy8!!
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Bilateral mastectomy 1/16/17. Expanders and reconstruction at a later date
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Pugs I had UMX no reconstruction, I had absolutely no pain > the surgeon was amazing. Even the nurses say most of his patients have no pain.I did sleep in a recliner for 10 days, once the drain came out I tried sleeping in my bed finally.
I may at some point want to think about reduction on the right breast and implant etc on the left. But Now I am content with a knitted knocker and a genie bra. Once I put that knitted knocker on I felt complete with 2 breasts.
You ladies will do great and going thru this together will bond you as you can compare notes, pains, pain meds etc.
Good Luck to you all
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Jan 17- Bilateral mastectomy w/expanders and reconstruction at a later date
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Thanks Goincrzy8, glad to hear that you're doing well & back in your own bed! It's great to hear from those a little further ahead in the process!
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Oh gosh, reading these posts makes me realize how uninformed I am about my upcoming surgery and makes me question my decisions. I met with the PS and my new BS before chemo and didn't really do my usual research since I was so focused on chemo.
Love to hear how anyone decided on implant size, silicone or saline, shape, brand, etc.
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Hi LisbethS, my recommendation since you sound close to your exchange surgery is to check out the Breast Implant Sizing 101 board which is all about implant decisions. Whippetmom started it a few years back & imho she's the implant guru. Read the first thread...Lots of great info there...Congrats on being over chemo!
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Hi Pugsmama - so glad you were able to reach a decision. Thanks for sharing what your BS told you. That is an excellent way to look at this! My PS called yesterday and went over a few more details about my surgery. Risks and other factors.... blah! I am trying to stay positive. I do not have an appointment with my BS after surgery until the 24th. That seems like it will be the longest 20 days of my life waiting on results. Geez cancer is not for the weak!
LisbethS - I am sorry to hear you too had to do chemo before your surgery. Yes, do look at the Sizing 101 thread. I discovered it the other day and it is very informative. For me deciding what type of reconstruction or none, has been the most difficult part of this journey. My prayer is that I will not have to do chemo or radiation, but will not know until after surgery. I am still struggling with the fact that I have cancer. Still seems like a nightmare I am going to wake up from and everything will be ok!
I have a question for everyone going through this... Have you all had a PET scan before your surgery? My husband thinks I need one but my doctor has not ordered one. Will I have one after surgery? I did have a 3D mamo and a few US's with biopsy's. I just want to make sure I am doing everything I can to kick this cancer in the butt! I know this is a question for my doctor, but thought I would ask all of you too. Thank you for the feedback!
LeftCoastie
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Hi LeftCoastie! I did not have a PET scan but I've wondered if I should also? My only guess is they are going to determine if in lymph nodes when I have my surgery next week. Oh goodness...just typing that I realize I'm exactly a week away now. I'm still researching and learning so much as I'm sure you get...I think it can spread through blood stream and not just the lymph system so I'm not sure why they don't recommend PET scans? I also had mammo, ultrasounds with biopsies as well as an MRI but nobody has mentioned PET. I will try looking some stuff on that now but perhaps someone else can help. Best wishes to you and all on here with upcoming surgeries.
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Leftcoastie, just think when you have your appt, they'll probably take the drains out!
Leftcoastie & Fightingirl, no PET scan before surgery is good news! From what I've read, the dr. won't order a PET scan unless they have reason to believe the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes before you even have your surgery & lymph node biopsies.
Once we get our surgery results, we'll know a lot more but patience is not one my virtues! I also wish everyone all the best this month. Looking forward to recovering from surgery together!
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PugsMama--thank you so much for your insight. I'm feeling better about my decision to go with implants. I too don't care to have my breasts aging with me or losing weight when I do. These can be good things. I don't want to be out of commission too long either. I have a 14 year old son and a 16 year old daughter. I have to be able to run this household again as soon as possible. It is so true about how overwhelming these decisions all are! I have almost completely forgotten all about the fact that I have breast cancer. I have been so busy researching which surgery to have, how much to remove, how to reconstruct them, where to have it done, who to do it, that at least my fears about the cancer have been minimized.
My surgery date has been set! January 10, 2017.
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I also found out that I'm not going to be able to get nipple sparing due to how low my nipples droop. I always wanted them to be perkier anyway.
I'm so glad you girls are in this with me. No one else really knows what we're going through.
I may joke about these breasts but I really am going to miss them. I ruled the world with these things when I was younger.😉
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Amen 3bears! Every day I look at them now I think wow, I'm gonna miss these...I'm in the same place...all this reconstruction business has certainly taken the focus off of the fact I have cancer. Grateful for that, especially during the holidays...we'll deal with that together after we have our treatment plans...I thank God for my support sisters on this site every day! My husband is wonderfully supportive but he'll have enough to do while I'm recuperating. All he cares about is that I'm cancer free. If I shared all my mental percolating with him, it would drive him nuts! Lol
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